Dying Fire
by RWBYRedReaper
Summary: RWBY AU starting from the events of No Brakes. Warning:May or probably will cause tears.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Apologies for short chapters... I write most of it on my phone, so it seems like it is alot longer than it actually is... that being said, this fic is not lacking in storyline... and will be updated whenever possible... just have to edit/have someone edit it to fanfic-form for me... btw, the author who did this is an awesome writer in itself: CakeLegends. go read his stuff. Thats all for now... reviews would be super awesome!**

**Prologue**

Yang, Blake, and Weiss jumped down the hatch and into the train car.

Yang straightened her stance and spoke to her teammates. "Guess this is what we've been _training_ for."

The Heiress rolled her eyes. The Faunus sighed.

Weiss gave Blake a cartridge of dust infused ammunition as they moved forward. Suddenly, their path was blocked. A figure stood crouched. Yang immediately recognized her: the mysterious girl from under the freeway, the one who had run away before she could engage.

Yang distinctly remembered the girl's name, _Neo_. In her book, this called for a rematch.

"You two go on ahead. This one's mine." She muttered darkly. Her teammates noticed the seriousness in her voice and nodded. As they sped past the girl, Yang fired a blast from Ember Celica, both to experiment and distract Neo from her fleeing teammates.

After they disappeared into the next car, Yang charged, punching rapidly at her enemy. Neo simply smirked and dodged every attack. With each miss, Yang grew angrier and angrier. They girl's smirk persisted. Yang felt her blood boiling.

"STOP DOING THAT YOU LITTLE WEASEL!" Yang suddenly shouted.

Neo, currently out of her reach, shrugged and smiled. The girl now went on the offense.

Despite the monopoly Yang had on height and strength, Neo's speed and agility outmatched her. Neo eventually decided to end it. In a blur, she grabbed Yang's arm and jump-spun, throwing the brawler and leaving her spinning like a top.

Keeping the brawler off balance, Neo planted her foot and placed a knee in Yang's back, lifting her and propelling her skyward. Yang slammed into the roof with a harrowing thud, then fell lifelessly into the floor.

The Brawler had lost consciousness.

Neo's psychotic grin grew wider. Her eyes glowed with hunger. She drew her sword and approached the unconscious blonde. She pointed her sword at her chest, looking around quickly to ensure nobody would interfere with her kill.

Convinced she was alone, she brought her sword down.

** Chapter 1**

Flaming Ruby Rose/Ruby Rose's Flames Flaming Rose

Ruby had just sped through another line of White Fang soldiers.

'Huh, maybe we can do this after all!' She thought to herself.

Under her feet, she felt something crash hard against the metal. She stumbled, collapsing to her knees. She felt wrong. Her limbs felt as though they were suddenly doused in ice water, and her vision was blurred. She shook her head to clear it.

'Go check on Yang.' called a low voice in her head.

'What? Why?' She thought back.

'Just go. _Now_.' She got up, motioned to Oobleck that she would return shortly, and walked to the hatch.

For each step she took toward the hatch, a nagging feeling settled deeper into her stomach.

When she reached the hatch, the nagging feeling exploded into full blown fear. She opened the hatch and leapt down. "Hey Yang, I-"

She stopped dead.

WEISS POV

Weiss easily dealt with the giant White Fang Lieutenant and was deciding whether to help Yang or Blake, when a scream seemingly came from all around her. Weiss covered her ears, trying to figure out what could make a scream that could drown out a train.

The scream was really a long, drawn out word. It was a short, simple word that rang through the train with guttural pain.

_No._

It came from behind her. Weiss rushed to the door and opened it.

She thought she was ready for anything, but she could never prepare for the scene before her.

Yang lay sprawled on the ground in a pool of blood. The multi-colored girl stood over her, holding a long bloodstained sword.

Ruby stood further down the car, her eyes wider than dinner plates. The Heiress could only watch in frozen horror as her leader collapsed to her knees, bowing her head and closing her eyes.

In a heat of rage, Weiss drew Myrtenaster and moved in on Neo, but stopped when she heard a voice in her ear.

_"No…she's mine."_

Ruby had only whispered, but Weiss heard it louder than if she had yelled. Ruby slowly stood and opened her eyes.

The normal silver eyes shone yellow.

Yang's eyes turned ruby red when upset. Ruby's eyes now shone with the fiery intensity as Yang's hair.

Weiss felt a rush of fear. Ruby's head and hands were now cloaked in dark red flames.

"You...you _MONSTER!_" Ruby screamed with rage, and launched herself at Neo.

As fast as Neo was, Ruby was still much faster. Weiss noticed that Crescent Rose lay abandoned where she had collapsed, but she saw Ruby didn't need it.

Neo tried to swing her umbrella, but Ruby caught it. Her flames burned into the fabric, and quickly spread to the rest of the umbrella. Weiss took satisfaction from the look of surprise and fear on Neo's face.

Ruby's fist smashed into it repeatedly at high speed. Weiss heard a noise behind her and spun around, drawing Myrtenaster once again. It was only Blake.

"Roman has been taken care of..." The Faunus informed. "I heard a scream. What-"

Blake stopped short as she saw the scene.

By then, Ruby had beaten Neo to a bloody pulp, extinguished her flames, and was now bowed over her sister head. Blake pushed past Weiss and rushed to Ruby's side. Weiss, still in shock, walked on weak knees toward them.

Ruby was sobbing unrestrained. Even Blake had tears flowing down her cheeks. The hatch above opened again, and Oobleck dropped down.

"Girls! We must- oh my."

Oobleck covered his mouth with his hand. "You stay here, I can do it." He said, softer than any of them had ever heard. He sped off toward the engine.

Weiss stumbled as the train slowed suddenly. Blake and Ruby didn't even move.

Neither of them moved for what seemed like hours, until Oobleck returned.

"We must go, we are directly under Vale. If you'd like, I can call someone to help move the b-"

Weiss turned and shot him the darkest glare she'd given anyone, let alone a teacher.

"…To help move Ms. Xiao Long to a more comfortable place."

Ruby nodded slightly. Oobleck made the call.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Heres chapter 2... edited and ready for you to enjoy... So... again, this chapter was not edited by me, or even CakeLegends. Today's...second...winner is ExRevolution. Go read HIS stuff. but before that, review! Chapter 3 will be up as soon as it is edited... which will be a while, cuz I wanna try to do it myself... lol.**

Chapter 2 Aftermath

Jaune opened his eyes. He was in bed, and it was morning, but he hadn't been sleeping. Ever since the late night call from Ruby, he laid there uneasily until morning. "Alright guys! Time to get up!" He said loudly. Only Pyrrha seemed to hear him.

Suddenly, a loud song came from his bedside table, startling him. He jumped backwards into Nora's bed, who in turn jumped like a cat onto Pyrrha. Jaune, after extricating himself from Nora's sheets, read the caller id. It was Ruby again. He answered, "Hey Ruby, I saw you called earlier." Instead of Rubys high pitched voice however, he was greeted by a male's voice. He quickly got over his shock, and recognized the voice as Professor Oobleck. "Mr. Arc, please come to the manhole cover on the corner of…. West street and fifth. Bring your team, and also Professor Ozpin. Time is of the essence." The phone went dead before Jaune could ask why.

..

"Alright, gather your stuff, Oobleck called and ordered us to go to… a manhole in Vale." "But I thought he was with RWBY?" Pyrrha asked. Jaune shrugged, "I know, I'm just following his orders." In Vale, at the coordinates Oobleck had set, JNPR found the manhole he had indicated, and Pyrrha placed her hand on the cover. Then she stood and lifted her hand, using her semblance to drag the cover upward as well. "Please can I go first? Please please pleeeeeeaaaasssse?" Nora begged, and Jaune, seeing no reason not to, moved aside for her. Nora being Nora, however, decided not to climb down like a normal person, but instead jumped down, whooping.

..

Ren followed, then Jaune, then Pyrrha, who pulled the cover back into place. At the bottom, instead of a sewer, Jaune found himself in a giant tunnel, with a train in it. "Where's Nora?" Pyrrha asked behind Jaune. Ren pointed to the train, "Must've run ahead…" "How'd that thing get here?" he muttered to himself as he climbed aboard. It was kinda creepy, walking through abandoned car after abandoned car. Not paying attention, he walked straight into Nora, who was standing in a doorway.

..

"Nora! What are you-" Jaune started, picking himself up, but stopped when Nora turned. Her face was scrunched up, tears flowing down her cheeks.

..

Jaune was knocked aside as Ren elbowed his way to Nora. "Nora, whats- oh."

..

Ren had gently moved Nora to the side in order to look into the next car. Pyrrha helped Jaune up, then took a look for herself. Her hand flew to her mouth, turned, and threw herself into Jaune's arms, also crying. Jaune, not expecting this, promptly fell backward again.

..

"S-Sorry!" Pyrrha gasped as she buried her face into his chest.

..

"Alright, what the hell is going on!" Jaune, still holding Pyrrha, maneuvered so he too could see what was sad enough to easily upset two of his teammates. He saw Ruby, Weiss, and Blake all standing around something on the ground. Something with blonde hair splattered with red. Jaune, upon realizing what the object was, his stomach clenched, and he felt bile rise in his throat. Throwing his head to the side, he threw up his breakfast. After emptying his stomach, he and Ren pushed past Nora and Pyrrha, now hugging each other, and walked up to Oobleck.

..

"How the hell did this happen!?" Jaune asked, trying hard not to go crazy and hit Oobleck.

..

"I am not sure. Me and Ruby were defending the roof after Blake, Weiss, and…yeah… When the rest of her team went below to attempt to stop the train. Five minutes after they left, Ruby motioned me she wanted to go below. I didn't follow her, but I saw the aftermath…" Oobleck explained, and pointed to another huddled mass at the door. It's face barely looked human, as it was heavily bruised and beaten, but the person was still alive, as every now and again, he saw the chest rise and fall. "Mr. Arc, Mr. Lie, please help me move Yang and her sister to somewhere more dignified. Ms. Belladonna, kindly inform the Headmaster. Ms. Rose?" he turned, talking to the latter in a much softer tone than he did the rest. Ruby didn't move."Ms. Rose?" he tried again, but no answer.

..

Weiss moved to her side. "Ruby, we need to go. Jaune and Ren can take Yang home." Weiss said, although it was clear she too was barely keeping it together. Ruby shuddered, then, with lightning speed, turned and hugged at Weiss, bawling onto her shoulder. Over her other shoulder, Weiss motioned for them to continue. Jaune, Ren, and Oobleck deftly lifted Yang, and carried her out of the train, and up the ladder. Pyrrha went ahead to remove the cover. As Jaune left manhole, he noticed there were dozens of police cars everwhere, as well as police tape, cordoning off the area. Ozpin, Goodwitch, Port, and a few other teachers stood waiting next to the manhole. Goodwitch choked back a sob when she saw Yang, but that was it. Port, for once, was silent. They moved Yang into a nearby ambulance, but Jaune knew it was already too late. Up the hole next came Blake, Weiss, and a still sobbing Ruby. This time, Goodwitch broke for longer, and escorted Ruby and Weiss to a nearby police car. The JNPR and Blake were left to ride back to Beacon in the airship Ozpin had used to get there.


	3. AN

**Hey all, chapter 3 of Dying Fire has been written... **

**i just need help with editting it so it is easier to read. if youre interested, pm me, or review, and i will pm it to you.** **What you will recieve is the first look at chapter 3, as well as a shout out. **

**and lastly, apologies for those who came here after recieving the notice for "chapter 3 of dying fire"... i hate when that happens, but cant help that. PM me peoples!**


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N: Todays chapter has been editted by lynch8man. Serious feels ahead... read at your own risk.( admit, I myself cry when reading this chapter, even now...) anyhoo, without further ado... Chapter 3**

Chapter 3: Aftermath part 2

Ruby POV

Ruby was angry.

She was angry at Oobleck for not protecting Yang, she was angry at the White Fang for being on the train, she was angry at the bitch, Neo, for killing her sister; and lastly, she was angry at herself for not being fast enough to save her sister.

She spent the next few weeks in the dorm, barely eating.

Ozpin had given her a free pass to not do her homework, and for once, she didn't care, she did it anyway.

Burying herself in her studies helped take her mind off her sister.

After a couple weeks, she began coming to class, and outsmarted even Weiss when Oobleck, Port, or Goodwitch asked a question.

She rose to the top of the class, but it wasn't enough.

Every night, Ruby had to look at Yang's empty, unmade bed, with it's puppy dog pillow.

She refused to let anyone else touch it, occasionally sleeping in it.

It still smelled like her, like peaches, saliva and sweat.

It was a gross smell, but she was used to it.

Despite her new-found lust for schoolbooks, she couldn't look at her fantasy books without crying, screaming, or passing out.

Every time she did, she instantly remembered her cold nights long ago at home, Yang sitting next to her, reading those books to her with funny voices and animations.

Weiss and Blake began keeping their distance, afraid to say something that would set her off.

Zwei did what he could to cheer her up, constantly jumping on her lap at night, or performing tricks when she was crying, trying to distract her. it didn't work most of the time, though, but he didn't give up.

Every now and then, Zwei himself would be feeling down, so he would curl up in Yang's bed, and whine.

He had lost a master.

His friend.

His trainer, but he knew there was another who felt worse than he did.

One night, while Zwei was sleeping in Yang's bed, Ruby watched as Weiss woke up, walked to Zwei, and began scratching him between the ears.

"Who's a good dog. Whos a brave dog. Whos a-" Weiss stopped.

Ruby opened her eyes again, then teared up.

Weiss was holding Zwei to her chin, sobbing silently into his fur.

Zwei, in response, nuzzled himself closer and seemed to hug her back.

Weiss must have sensed Ruby was awake, because she got up, walked over to her, the dog still in her arms, and sat on her bed.

"Come here, dolt." She whispered.

Ruby quickly sat up, and hugged Weiss and Zwei, tears flowing freely.

Blake followed soon afterward.

Ruby cried until her eyelids grew heavy, and she fell asleep into the arms of her teammates.

Weiss POV

She had never seen Ruby this low.

A while ago, Zwei had eaten all her cookies, and Ruby sunk into a depression then, sure, but the arrival of more cookies fixed it in seconds.

Weiss knew a million cookies wouldn't help this time.

Ruby slept late every day, barely spoke, barely ate.

She was getting worried.

After class one day, she pulled Blake aside.

"Blake, I'm worried about Ruby. Ive never seen anyone this low, and it scares me."

Blake nodded. "Yeah, me neither, and it scares me too. Maybe Ozpin can help?"

"Yeah, I'll see if JNPR has any ideas to help."

They agreed, and split up, each to talk to a different person.

Despite not being on the same team, the loss of Yang had taken it's toll on both teams.

Nora didn't joke or laugh as much, every now and then, Pyrrha would get teary eyed, and Jaune was angrier than usual.

A couple days ago, Cardin made an awful joke about Yang, and Jaune attacked all of CRDL on his own.

He managed to hold his own for a couple seconds, but Cardin knocked him down.

Pyrrha came to his aid, then Ren, then Nora, then she and Blake together.

Lets just say, CRDL wont be making any jokes any time soon… or walking.

Nora and Pyrrha decided to follow through on their threat they made last semester, and shattered each member's legs.

Ozpin, although understanding, only gave them a month's detention.

She approached JNPR's dorm, and knocked.

Ren answered. "Yes?" he asked.

Ren was the only one who didn't seem all that affected.

It didn't surprise her, though.

Very little seemed to phase that kid, and frankly, Weiss was thankful.

He was the one you could count on to have a level head in an emotional situation.

"Hey, Ren. I need your help."

Was all she said before he moved aside.

Nora and Pyrrha were studying, while Jaune was reading Xray and Vav volume 2.

He looked up. "Hey, Ice- I mean, Weiss. Whats up?" he asked.

He stood up, wincing.

Cardin, though damaged, had managed to hurt Jaune sufficiently during the scuffle.

"It's Ruby. She can't keep going like this. She's loosing weight, she doesn't talk. She's a withered, empty shell compared to the girl we know and… well, love."

Someone coughed, hiding a sob.

It was Pyrrha.

"What do you want us to do?" Jaune said, saluting.

He was annoying, a bad fighter, and not all that academic, but he would certainly be there when you needed him.

Weiss nodded. "I'm not sure how to handle this. Ive never had to handle other people's breakdowns before… I don't know what to do."

She choked back a sob.

She'd never talked about her feelings like this before, and that added to her nervousness.

"Did you talk to Ozpin?" Ren asked.

"Blake is doing that right now."

"Then we can wait for his input before we do anything. the worst thing we can do now is make it worse… where is Ruby now?"

Weiss stared at Ren, cursing herself. 'Of COURSE,' she thought to herself, 'Someone should be with Ruby! I don't want to do anything drastic.'

"I think she's in our room. Does anyone want to go check on her with me?"

Nora stood up, "I can go. I'm bored anyway."

Together, she and Nora crossed the hall, and entered the room.

It was empty, but the bathroom light was on.

"Alright, we can wait for her out here." Weiss said, sitting on her bed, and picking up a book.

A couple minutes passed, Ruby didn't come out.

Weiss was just getting up to check on her when she heard glass shatter inside.

"Ruby, are you ok?" she called.

No answer.

"Ruby!?" she called louder, and was answered by a quickly stifled sob from within.

Weiss crossed the room and knocked on the door.

"Ruby, answer me right NOW!"

She hammered on the door.

Still silence.

"Nora, take the door down."

Nora nodded quickly, unfolded Magnhild, and smashed the door open.

Weiss looked inside, and screamed.

Ruby was standing at the sink, holding a piece of broken mirror to her arm.

She was crying.

"RUBY, NO!"

Weiss flung herself at the black haired girl, and they collided.

She wrestled the glass from her hand, and threw it into the sink.

"Ruby, how could you even THINK about doing that!?" she screamed at her.

Ruby just lied there, not moving.

When Weiss rolled her onto her back, she screamed again.

A piece of glass was embedded into the other arm, blood flowing profusely. "Nora, call 911, NOW!"

Weiss tried to use her aura to heal Ruby, but she was already too drained to do anything...


	5. Chapter 4

**A/N: Apologies for a shorter chapter than most... school, a play, and a thing at work got in the way... anyway, an editor for chapter 5 is needed, refer to the A/N chapter(2) for the perks of being said editor... speakin of which, this chapters editor "TheKishinSoul"... go read his stuff... and review my stuff. i like reading what y'all think of it... so without further ado, Chapter 4. **

Chapter 4

Ruby Dreaming

Ruby POV

Last thing Ruby could remember was standing at the bathroom sink, ready to be with Yang. Next thing she new, she felt cocooned in something soft. Bright lights shown through her eyelids. 'So this is what its like… its not too bad…' she thought to her self. Then she began to hear sounds. A steady beeping in the background, someone was talking. Disturbed from her comfiness, she cracked her eyes open and looked around. She wasn't dead, she was in a hospital bed.

She had been hooked up to one of those hospital things that beeped every time her heart beeped, and a man and woman in white robes were talking about something at the foot of her bed. she closed her eyes, but before drifting back to sleep, she heard the woman say, "I know what grief can do to a person…"

It was raining.

Ruby sat alone in her room. There was a knock at the door, but Ruby didn't feel like getting up. Someone spoke on outside. "Hey Sis, open up! I have cookies!" recognizing the voice, Ruby leaped up and yanked the door open. Yang stood there, looking alive and well… and wet. "Sorry, it took me so long." Yang said as she entered. Ruby sneaked a cookie out of the box as she passed, and jammed it into her mouth whole. She instantly spit it back out.

"Yang! These are Raisin cookies, blech!"

Yang chuckled. "Sorry, Rubes… I had to have some way to keep you from eating them all… I hid raisin ones in with the chocolate ones." Ruby growled as Yang held one out to her. "Here, this one is chocolate, I swear." Ruby warily bit into it. It was indeed chocolate. "Hey Ruby?" Yang asked. All Ruby could say was "Hm?" as her mouth was full of cookie. "I know its sad, but you have to move on."

Ruby stopped chewing, and swallowed whole. "Move on from what?"

Yang stood, unzipped her jacket, and showed the bare middle of her chest. There was a hole there, no wider than a dime. "You know what I'm talking about. I'm gone, and there's nothing you can do about it."

Ruby jumped up, "I miss you! I wanted to see you!"

The blonde gave her an agitated look. "And frankly, that's the most selfish thing I've ever seen you do!" Yang zipped up again and sat down.

Ruby was taken off-guard. "What? But-"

Yang gave her no time to finish. "What about Weiss and Blake? Huh? How do you think they would feel if they lost two teammates? Or Dad? He already lost me, and two wives… how you think he would take it if he lost you too!?" Yang's voice got louder, her eyes flickered red.

The younger of the two couldn't hold back her tears. "I DON'T CARE! I DON'T CARE ABOUT WEISS, BLAKE, OR ANYONE ELSE! I MISS YOU!" Ruby shrieked.

Yang was quick to respond, letting her own tears flow. "I KNOW! BUT YOU NEED TO STOP! WHAT YOU ARE DOING IS HURTING EVERYONE ELSE!" Her voice began to die down a bit. "Weiss and Blake are afraid for you… you never saw Weiss's face when she saw you in the bathroom, but Nora did! How you think you're affecting your friends? Huh? HUH?" Yang shouted back.

Ruby launched herself into Yang, hugging viciously, Yang hugged back. Ruby repeated, "I-I m-m-miss you!"

Yang stroked her hair and back. "I know. I know… but you need to let go. For everyone else's sake…" Yang faded away, as did the room, and Ruby woke up.


	6. Chapter 5

**A/N: Apologies for the delayed final chapter to Dying Fire... PART 1... Yes, that means there will be more... White Rose will be represented. Ex Revolution did the edits. Without further ado, Chapter 5-**

Chapter 5

Forever Burning

Ruby was discharged two days before Yang's funeral was scheduled and she wasn't sure if she should attend or not.

The dream stuck with her and she used that as a driving force to return to normalcy, at least as much normalcy as possible.

She paused at the door to her room, took a breath, and opened it. Weiss and Blake were sitting on their beds talking about her. Weiss jumped up when she saw her and strode towards her.

Ruby put her hands up before Weiss could pull her into a hug. "Weiss, wait. Before you do anything, I want to apologize for what happened."

Weiss caught herself, and turned red. "Apology excepted. But if you ever pull a stunt like that again, I will f*** end you myself." Ruby merely nodded, and let Weiss continue to hug her.

Blake joined in. "Ruby, do you want to go to the… thing?" Blake asked, clearly afraid of setting her off.

"Yes. I owe it to her," was all she said before laying on her own bed, and rolling over.

She felt Weiss and Blake's stare burrow into her back, but didn't care. She was done crying.

The day of the funeral arrived. The entire week of classes was cancelled. Ruby, Weiss, Blake, JNPR, Sun and Neptune were allowed to sit in the very front, which was usually reserved for teachers.

Yang's coffin was laid out on the stage, surrounded by wood. When Ruby looked quizzically at it, Sun leaned over, "Their gonna send her off with style, the way royalty was…buried in ancient times."

Ruby still didn't understand, but nodded. Ozpin stood, and began to speak. He spoke of sacrifice and friendship, but it meant nothing to Ruby. She only paid attention when he opened the floor.

Ruby stood and walked onstage. The room, which had been slightly abuzz with crying and whispered conversations instantly silenced. "Yang was the best sister anyone could have asked for. She was almost always happy, friendly, nice… always had a pun or two ready," this earned a couple choked up chuckles from the audience, "she died defending Vale, she died defending Weiss, Blake and I.

She died doing her duty, and there's nothing more she would want."She turned to the casket. "Yang, ill never stop missing you. There will always be a hole in my heart that cant be killed…"

Rubys eyes teared up, and she broke down. Weiss and Blake jumped onto the stage, not even bothering with the stairs. JNPR soon followed, as did Sun and Neptune.

After Ruby calmed down, she stayed ontstage long enough to say, "I'll miss you, big sister. I'll miss you, Yang," then fled the stage.

After a few others gave their respects, Ozpin stood, holding a flaming torch. He motioned for Ruby to join him, which she did.

He gave her the torch, and she understood what was happening. She stumbled forward, tears falling into the flames, making it sizzle, and set the wood on fire.

The flames spread, occasionally hitting air pockets, which made it snap and crackle.

"I guess you can say she went out with a Yang…" Ruby thought to herself, and turned her back to the flames...


	7. AN about art

**Hey guys, a very, very good friend of mine provided a cool coverpage for the story... for all my new, and old, readers... check it out and please, PLEASE comment what you think... of both story and picture. She needs some good reviews... she doesnt think her art is good... please help to boost her spirits!**


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